


Stray Cat

by Buckysaur



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable, Awesome Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Bucky is basically a stray cat, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, Cute, Dorks in Love, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Humor, I don't know how I wrote this, I mean how could there not be with these two dorks, M/M, Mild Angst, Moving In Together, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, POV Sam Wilson, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Civil War (Marvel), References to PTSD, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Slow Build, although not an actual cat, bucky is also quite punny, except not really, he lives on Sam's couch, like super cute, mostly this is just very cute, references to trauma, sigh, steve is a bad influence, that's how cute it is, together they have adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 07:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1460299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckysaur/pseuds/Buckysaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unannounced visitors were becoming a regular thing in Sam's life, and then one of them decided to move in with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stray Cat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chaperoned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaperoned/gifts).



> ** Written pre-Civil War **
> 
> For chaperoned, who asked for Bucky/Sam prompts, and for whom I came up with an idea that is actually not in this story at all. (Despite briefly being mentioned.) She also beta'd the fic, for which I am eternally grateful!
> 
> I ship these two dorks. How could I not?

Although the only reason Sam kept telling Bucky about it was to tease him, the man genuinely reminded him of a stray cat. He had come into Sam's life much like one — if you interpreted the vast numbers of assassinations in DC as dead mice on his doormat.

The first time he came to Sam’s house had been a strange parallel with Steve’s first visit (if you wanted to call that a ‘visit’). Bucky had looked ruffled, haunted, and there were traces of blood and soot on his clothing and skin. “Everyone I know is trying to kill me,” he'd said — and how had he even _known_ about that?

After a moment of stunned silence, Sam had opened the door for him. “Not everyone,” he’d replied truthfully, without even thinking about it.

It was not long after that that Sam made the stray cat connection, because Bucky, once invited, kept coming back. Even after getting in touch with Steve, sharing memories with Natasha, and befriending the other Avengers, come sunset he would always be back on Sam’s couch. Day in, day out, Sam would find him passed out with some sort of soap opera blaring obnoxiously from the television. The sight never stopped puzzling him, but Sam caught himself smiling a little wider every time he was met by it after a long day of work.

Whenever Sam woke up, however, Bucky was no longer there. No matter the time — even if it was four in the morning and Sam had just jerked awake, bathing in sweat as a result from a nightmare pulling him back to fire, battle fields, and screaming, falling, _losing —_  Bucky would be gone.

This process repeated itself for a long time: Sam finding Bucky asleep on his couch, and walking in on it empty the next morning. In fact, it was several months since Bucky had first started appearing that Sam padded into his living room, yawning and scratching his stomach, wearing nothing but sweats, to find Bucky still there, curled up on the couch with a steaming mug of tea in his left hand, and one of Sam’s books — The Social Network — in his right.

“Good morning,” Bucky said without looking up.

Sam blinked. “Good morning,” he replied, careful to keep the hesitation out of his voice. “Do you… want something for breakfast? I was gonna make pancakes.”

“I don’t eat,” Bucky said, flipping a page.

Right. Of course. “Oh. Okay. I’m sorry, carry on,” Sam said, moving to his kitchen area, when suddenly he heard a strangely explosive noise behind him. It took him a few seconds of staring, trying to process the image before his eyes until he realised Bucky was _laughing._

“Oh, my God! Sam, I’m kidding. Fuck, Steve _said_ you’d fall for that, but I didn’t believe him. Man — your face! Golden.”

Sam stared. Bucky smirked.

“I’d love some pancakes,” he said after turning his eyes back to his book as if nothing had happened.

To his own surprise, a smile spread across Sam’s face. He made pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads (a reflex, as he usually made them for his little nieces), and after a short argument they ended up watching Steamboat Willy.

Bucky may have come to him as a stray cat, but Sam was glad to give him a home. Months later, he was even glad to start sharing a bed with him. Every time after that, when he woke up in the darker hours of the night, trembling under the weight of his memories, Bucky was there to hold him. And every time Bucky woke up, shivering and lost in time, Sam was there to keep him warm.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic! I have some other Bucky/Sam fics up on my AO3 if anyone else loves this pairing as much as I do ^_^
> 
> Let me know what you thought in a comment? I really appreciate feedback :D
> 
> Prompts are also 120% welcome.


End file.
